Masonry finishing device



T. m m o V n N0 v H mm 3 H w H wow u mw m u m (n W m 2 "k Dec. 30, 1958 MASONRY FINISHING DEVICE William H. Holmes, Fayetteville, N. Y. Application October 31, 1955, Serial No. 543,844

2 Claims. (Cl. 72-128) This invention relates generally to finishing tools for masonry work, and has particular reference to a novel device for levelling the exposed surfaces of masonry embedded units such as tiles, glass bricks and the like, the device also operating to compact the mortar bed and obtain an improved bond between the surface units and the bed during the levelling process.

It is well known that after mortar has started to set, but before it has set hard, it can be re-worked to a certain extent by producing rapid vibrations therein. This knowledge is used by masons building tile floors, walls and the like to level a section of the floor or wall after it has been laid, and at the present time the levelling operation is carried out by sliding a wood block over the finished surface while tapping rapidly on the block, with a hammer.

, The continuous hammer tapping sets up the necessary vibration and re-works the mortar sufiiciently so that any uneven tiles are pushed into alignment by the block and, at the same time, the hammer impact helps to compact the mortar bed and secure a good bond between the surface units and the bed.

While the above-described levelling and compacting method produces acceptable results for most purposes, it has the disadvantage that it is laborious and time consuming, it being necessary to manipulate the hammer continuously and at a fairly high rate of speed while the wood block is carefully moved over the entire finished surface. In order to eliminate this disadvantage and enable the finishing operations on masonry embedded multi-unit surfaces to be performed more efficiently, the present invention contemplates and has as its primary object the provision of a device which is operable by means of a simple rolling motion to re-work the mortar, the device operating at the same time to level the surface, compact the mortar bed and obtain a strong bond between the surface units and the bed.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a finishing device for masonry embedded multi-unit surfaces which is capable of performing the leveling, compacting and bonding operations in a greatly improved manner.

A further important object of the invention is to provide a masonry finishing device of the above type which is capable of performing the finishing operations in less time than has heretofore been necessary, and with considerably less expenditure of labor.

Still another important object of the invention is to provide a masonry finishing device of the above type which is of simple, inexpensive and yet very durable construction, the device providing a cheap vibration source for masonry work.

A still further important object of the invention is to provide a masonry finishing device having a large number of uses in masonry work, the device being adapted, in addition to performing the finishing operations on tile and glass brick surfaces as above mentioned, to perform similar operations on other topping aggregates such as nited States Patent 2,866,327 Patented Dec. 30, 1958 terrazzo and perlite or perform a capacting action on concrete masses alone.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a masonry finishing device of the above type wherein the .mar, scratch or otherwise damage the surface being worked upon.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description thereof read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention for the puropse of disclosure.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a top perspective view of a masonry finishing device embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the device of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an end elevation of the device; and

Figure 4 is a bottom plan view of the device.

Having reference now to the drawings, wherein like reference numbers designate the same part in each of the views, 10 generally indicates the masonry finishing device which is essentially comprised of a main support or hand grip member 11 and a plurality of vibration producing elements 12 depending from the under side of the member. The hand grip member 11 is preferably in the form of a substantially fiat, rectangular block made of wood or metal, the width and length of the block being such that a workman can grip it with both hands when operating the device.

Each of the vibration producing elements 12 mounted on the under side of the hand grip member 11 is rotatably supported at its ends by means of a pair of oppositely disposed angle brackets 14 secured to the member as by screws 15. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, two such vibration producing elements are shown although a larger number may be desirable for certain applications of the device. The vibration producing elements 12 are arranged so that their longitudinal axes lie in a plane parallel to the main plane of the hand grip member 11, the axes also being parallel to the longitudinal axis of the member.

Each vibration producing element 12 comprises an elongated roller 17 which is fixed on a shaft 18 passing centrally therethrough, the ends of the shaft extending a short distance beyond the roller ends and being journalled in the brackets 14. In accordance with the invention, the rollers 17 are formed of semi-resilient material such as solid rubber or the like, and are provided with a plurality of fiat longitudinal sides 24! as shown. The rollers are therefore polygonal in conformation, and the sides thereof are preferably of substantially uniform width. In actual practice, eight-sided or octagonal rollers have proved to be highly satisfactory, although the number of sides will vary somewhat with the overall diameter of the rollers used.

In operating the device, the hand grip member 11 is grasped with both hands, and the rollers 17 are placed against the floor or wall surface of tile, glass brick, or the like, upon which the finishing operations are to be performed. The device is then moved with a reciprocating motion over the surface, the direction of motion of the device being normal to the longitudinal axis thereof so that the rollers are caused to rotate. As the rollers are rolled or rotated rapidly over the surface, the fiat longitudinal sides thereof, or more accurately the sharp longitudinal edges thereof, produce rapid uniform vibration in the mortar in which the surface units are embedded. This vibration, as previously noted, re-works the mortar compacting concrete masses which have no heterogeneous surface units embedded therein.

In the later case, or in the case of a terrazzo surface, the device may be made somewhat larger and heavier but the construction and method of operation is otherwise the same. The semiresilient construction of the rollers 17 is an important feature of the device since this construction will not mar or scratch a glazed tile, or like surface, as frequently happens when a piece of wood is moved over the surface while being tapped with a hammer.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the invention disclosed herein provides a novel and highly useful device for performing masonry finishing operations of the type described. The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departingfrom the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The embodiment disclosed is therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative rather than restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims.

resilient roller fixed to the shaft, said rollers being independently rotatable relative to said support member and to one another, each of said rollers having a plurality of longitudinally extending flat sides of uniform width, said brackets being arranged so that the axes of said central shafts are coplanar in a plane parallel to the main plane of said support member, said shaft axes also being parallel to one another and to the longitudinal axis of said member.

2. A portable, manually operable device for embedding and seating niulti-unit surface materials in masonry to form the floors and walls of buildings comprising a unitary hand grip member, a plurality of elongated polygonal rollers depending from the under side of said member for independent rotation relative thereto, said rollers being disposed with their longitudinal axes in substantially parallel relation to the under side of said hand grip member and to one another, each of said rollers being formed of semi-resilient material and having a plurality of longitudinally extending narrow fiat sides of substantially uniform width, said flat sided rollers being adapted to be moved with a rapid reciprocating motion over the multiunit surface materials by means of said hand grip member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,095,642 Knight Oct.12, 1937 2,481,021 Kempthorne Sept. 6, 1949 2,484,285 Greiner Oct. 11, 1949 2,591,377 Sadler Apr. 1, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 4,153 Netherlands July 26, 1919 354,558 Great Britain Aug. 13, 1931 440,891 Great Britain Jan. 6, 1936 441,375 Great Britain Jan. 17, 1936 562,316 Great Britain June 27, 1944 

